Tag Archives: Andujar

The Yanks have a problem. Should they play in the wild card game, what pitcher starts?

Before last night’s game, CC Sabathia was placed on the DL, and once and now again Yankee George Kontos was brought up from the minors for the time being (until a starter, Chance Adams? is needed to fill CC’s spot). Also, Luke Voit was sent down and Ronald Torreyes brought back up.

So there is the issue with CC.

And now the issue with Luis Severino. Severino gave up a HR to the first batter of the game, and gave up another run before getting out of the first inning. 2-0 Mets before the Yanks came to bat.

Severino is still leading the majors in wins (15) but since July 1 is 2-4 with a 7.31 ERA. He is not trending as you would like heading down the stretch.

Whether it is tipping pitches or a mechanical issue, he has to be straightened out.

The Yanks tied the game in the third when Romine singled and Gardner walked. Stanton hit into a force play but and error on the play enabled Romine to score and Stanton to reach second. Hicks singled to tie the game.

But Severino gave up a two-run HR to an old Yankees’ nemesis, Jose Bautista, in the top of the fourth that put the Mets up 4-2.

The Yanks cut it to 4-3 in the fifth when Gardner doubled and Didi singled him home.

A.J. Cole was awful. He gave up a HR to ex-Yankee Todd Frazier in the sixth, and back-to-back HRs to Brandon Nimmo and Michael Conforto in the seventh. 7-3 Mets.

Miguel Andujar hit a two-run HR (18) in the bottom of the eighth for the Yanks to cut it to 7-5, but Zach Britton’s struggles continued (aided by a Gleyber Torres’ error) as the Mets got an insurance run in the top of the ninth, 8-5 Mets, the final score.

The Yanks have to get CC healthy, and get Severino and Britton on track. They also need Judge and Sanchez to get healthy, and Gleyber Torres (down to .261) to get out of his slump.

Otherwise, if they make the postseason, it could not be for long.

Meanwhile, they fall to 74-44, and 10 back of Boston. They are 3 1/2 up on Oakland for the top wild card seed.

Miguel Andujar hit a 2-run HR in the bottom of the seventh to break a 2-2 tie and lead the Yanks to a 5-3 win over Texas Saturday afternoon.

Despite the win, the 73-43 Yanks lost a 1/2 game in the standings to Boston, dropping 9 1/2 behind Boston because Boston swept a DH from the Bad News Bears (Baltimore Orioles) on Saturday.

With one out in the first, Giancarlo Stanton got the green light on a 3-0 pitch and hit HR #29 to put the Yanks up 1-0. After an out, Miguel Andujar singled and Greg Bird doubled to make it 2-0.

Lance Lynn gave up a run in the third as Texas cut it to 2-1.

In the sixth, Bird doubled and scored on a Neil Walker single.

But in the top of the seventh, with two out, Zack Britton imploded. Single, single, and 2 straight walks made it 3-2. In came Dellin Betances who balked in the tying run before getting out of the inning.

That set the stage for Andujar’s HR (17). You wonder if he may be stealing that ROY award away from Gleyber Torres (or Ohtani).

But in the ninth, Aroldis Chapman couldn’t get the save without some drama. Walk, K, single. Pop up. HBP to load the bases. K.

Masahiro Tanaka’s troubles in giving up the gopher ball continued, as he gave up 3 HR.

In the fourth, Beltre hit a 2-run HR (#469 of his career, passing Chipper Jones on the all-time list). Beltre, an all-time great, also is up to 3134 hits in his career. Later that inning, Guzman hit the first of his three HR for the night, and Texas was up 3-0.

Texas got two in the fifth to take a 5-0 lead.

Brett Gardner got the Yanks on the board in the bottom of the fifth with his 10th HR of the season.

Guzman led off the sixth with his second HR of the game to make it 6-1 Texas. A.J. Cole relieved Tanaka then, and three more runs scored that inning to make it 9-1.

The Yanks came back with three in the bottom of the sixth. With one out, Stanton walked. With two out, Gregorius singled. Andujar hit a ground-rule double to knock in one run, and Luke Voit singled in two.

Guzman hit his third HR of the game in the top of the seventh to make it 10-4.

In the bottom of the seventh, Austin Romine hit his 7th HR of the season to cut it to 10-5.

Texas got two in the eighth, 12-5.

In the bottom of the eighth, Didi and Andujar singled, and both moved up on a wild pitch. Romine drove in both with a single. 12-7, the final score.

An area of concern. Gleyber Torres went 0 for 5, and is hitting just .227 since June 9. His average has dropped from .308 to .269 since then.

Clint Frazier not happy at some comments Michael Kay made about Frazier’s stint on the DL re: concussion issues.

Ex-MLB player (and a former Yankee) Esteban Loaiza will get years in jail for running a drug ring. From the NY Post (edited):

Former Yankees pitcher Esteban Loaiza is expected to change his plea later this week in a felony cocaine distribution case, according to a report.

Loaiza — who was arrested in February in San Diego after authorities said they found 44 pounds of cocaine in a van parked in the garage of a rented townhouse — has a “change of plea” hearing listed in Southern California US District Court on Friday, WLS-TV reports.

The Tijuana-born Loaiza, 46, initially pleaded not guilty in February. A change of plea hearing results in a defendant submitting a guilty plea in “99 percent” of all criminal cases, according to the station’s legal analyst Gil Soffer, a former federal prosecutor.

…..

Federal investigators have said they believe Loaiza used the rented townhome as an intermediate destination for cocaine. Prior to his arrest, during which Loaiza was pulled over for a traffic violation and cops found a sophisticated compartment to hide contraband in his Mercedes-Benz, the former MLB star had crossed the Mexican border earlier that day, prosecutors said.

Authorities later obtained a search warrant for Loaiza’s rented home in Imperial Beach, where investigators said they found 44 pounds of cocaine stored less than 1,000 feet from an elementary school.

Loaiza, who posted bail in May, faces a mandatory 10-year minimum sentence and up to life in prison if convicted, according to the station.

Loaiza pitched for nine teams throughout his 14-season career, including the Yankees, Dodgers, White Sox and Pirates. He retired in 2008 with a 126-114 record and a 4.65 career ERA. He was a two-time All-Star and the second-winningest Mexican pitcher in MLB history, second only to Fernando Valenzuela. In 2003, he finished second in the American League Cy Young voting and started the All-Star Game.

Up 4-1 going into the bottom of the ninth, three walks by Aroldis Chapman and an error by Miguel Andujar let Boston tie the game.

Then in the tenth, in came Jonathan Holder. The same Jonathan Holder who gave up seven runs and got no one out on Thursday night against these same Red Sox. The Red Sox scored off of him. Ballgame over, 5-4 Boston, and the Yanks are now 9 1/2 behind Boston after getting swept up there this weekend.

With the four-game sweep by Boston, and the loss to lowly Baltimore Wednesday, the 68-42 Yanks have lost five in a row.

Some struggles of youth. The 4-5 hitters last night for the Yanks were Torres and Andujar. Two rookies, one 21, and the other 23 years old. While each has been great this year, their inexperience has been showing the past few days.

The Yanks, who only got one run Friday and only one Saturday (They really miss Aaron Judge, and to a lesser extent, Gary Sanchez (even with Sanchez’ .188 batting average.)St I mean, Luke Voit and Shane Robinson are in the lineup in this big series. No offense to those two, but really?) got all four of their runs in the seventh.

Gardner singled, Romine walked. Robinson walked to load the bases. Hicks reached on an error, two runs scoring, Robinson to third. Stanton singled to make it 3-1. Both runners moved up on a WP. After Didi struck out, Torres hit a SF. 4-1.

To the bottom of the ninth, and the wild Chapman we saw recently in a game vs. the Mets resurfaced. A strikeout, then two walks, another strikeout, another walk. Free passes. Ugh. A two-run lined single that Torres jumped for and just missed. 4-3. The error (second of the game) by Andujar that allowed Boston to tie the game (Greg Bird tried to scoop it and just couldn’t). Strikeout. (Update: Should Walker have replaced Andujar that inning for defensive purposes?)

Then the tenth, and when Holder came in, you just had a bad feeling after his outing the other night. He did get the first two outs. Then a single. WP. Intentional walk. Single by Benintendi to end the game.